Life in the Shadows
by Ashura Satoshi
Summary: After years of stealing/living on the streets, Ash Ketchum reaches a turning point, which eventually leads to him staying with a new family. With many unanswered questions such as his father's disappearance or constantly on the run from the police, will he break out his true self? / Advanceshipping /
1. Wound

**Hey everyone. This is kind of a side project that I'm working on…so if you enjoy it, let me know and I'll continue it…if you hate it, I'll delete this and we'll pretend like I've never ever posted this. **

**Read and Review! :)**

**(Title may or may not change.)**

* * *

In the middle of an occupied city was a 16 year old boy sitting on the edge of a water fountain.

Right there, he stared at the many shops and stores aimlessly, when he heard his stomach growl. He looked down to see his old ragged clothes, which consisted of a worn out black hoodie, dark torn jeans, and old black sneakers.

He stood up and began to walk over to a small bakery to 'get' a quick bite to eat, but that wasn't exactly what he intended on doing.

Throwing on his dark hood, the boy wandered into the almost vacant food shop.

…  
Once he had stepped into the place, the boy looked at the vast amount of breads/snacks scattered all over the place.

"May I help you?" The clerk behind the counter asked, eyeing him a bit suspiciously.

"No," Was all the boy said before returning to his 'browsing.'

And the second the man behind the counter turned his head away, the boy snatched the two loaves of bread sitting on the counter and walked out the store.

…

* * *

The second he stepped out, he had begun to gnaw on one of the pieces of bread…but it was rock cold. Did he exactly care? No…he hadn't.

He was used to living on the streets with no money and clean clothes, barely even getting a small bit to eat every couple hours.

After quickly finishing up the two pieces of bread, the boy walked over to what looked like a…jewelry store.

* * *

Opening the two double doors, he had begun to browse the assortment of jewels, consisting of bracelets and earrings. But of course, there were more valuable items like rings and expensive necklaces.

Quickly browsing over the jewelry, the woman behind the counter had begun to eye him almost as suspiciously as the bakery owner had been earlier.

So this was exactly when the boy took action.

Taking a look over the many items, the boy picked up a necklace sitting on display.

And wow…was it a nice one as well. The one he had begun to examine was a fine silver chain supporting a small blue pendant in the center, mimicking the color of the ocean.

Pretending to examine the piece of jewelry for a second, the boy slipped it into his pocket before attempting to sneak out of the store…

But too late.

The lady had already pressed the security button from underneath the counter, calling for the cops to arrive as soon as possible.

'_Crap_' He thought.

And just like that, he had sprinted in the direction of the double doors, but to his surprise, it was locked.

Then he tried to desperately search for a second way out, beginning to panic once he found two cops running towards the store he was in.

And behind him, he could see the lady chasing after him as well.

So guess what he did? The dark haired boy then proceeded to jump out the window, landing with a loud thud, coming into contact with the concrete beneath him.

Groaning to himself, the boy brushed some of the glass off his hoodie, before taking off faster than the speed of a Rapidash.

…

Faster and faster, he ran and ran for his life, hearing the two cops following closely to him as he rounded every corner and alleyway he found, jumping and scaling walls if possible…but that's when things started to sound bad for him.

_Pop! Pop! Pop!_

He was getting shot at.

Both cops had held handguns of their own and began firing at him.

Left and right, the boy did the best he could dodging…and to be honest…he was doing pretty damn well at it…but it was terrifying.

Another couple of rounds were fired as he finally came up to another corner.

Swiftly, the boy was just about to take the corner when…

_Pop!_

The bullet that had flown from the muzzle of one of the handguns had pierced the boy's torn jeans and exited from the other side of his leg.

…Damn, was that painful, but he had no time to think about that.

Wincing from the pain, he had shut his eyes and helplessly limped over to a nearby trashcan, and climbed in.

…

Hearing a series of running footsteps, he could hear as it eventually faded away.

Finally letting out a sigh of relief, the boy opened the lid of the trashcan, looked both ways and found nobody to be seen.

So, he slipped himself out of the trashcan, but immediately crashed onto the hard ground beneath him.

"Shit!" He cried.

He took a look down to find his leg bleeding very badly from the bullet wound. But he couldn't go to a hospital.

If he were to go to one, he would most likely be sent to prison…and that was definitely no option for him.

…

He groaned and groaned in pain as he crawled next to the trashcan, not even having the strength to get back in.

So, he placed both hands over his leg and cried like a baby as his leg continued to worsen and leak blood from the palm of his hand.

* * *

**(Flashback)**

"Mommy! Mommy! I think you should get this necklace!" The little boy exclaimed.

Delia Ketchum, the boy's mother smiled to her 6 year old boy as he pointed to a necklace…which consisted of a silver chain…and a blue pendant.

"It's beautiful Ash…what do you think Giovanni?"

The tall, light haired gentlemen, and Ash's father smiled. "I think that would look great on you, Delia. Let's go over and pay for it."

And just as they were about to walk over to the cashier…

_Boom!_

Just like that, everyone in the store had let out shrieks and screams of fear as a group of thieves broke into the store, killing as many civilians as possible, taking only one away.

"Daddy?...Mommy?" Ash cried as he looked around the store…

And the thieves left without a trace. On the floor were all of the deceased civilians including Ash's mother, lying with one hand over her bleeding chest.

The small boy took a look around the room…it was an utter pigsty, tables and items thrown messily across the floor, blood sprayed across the walls and floor, and a majority of the jewelry stolen.

But, one thing the boy was looking for as well…his father.

Giovanni Ketchum had also left without a trace along with the thieves…but why?

Ash couldn't figure the answer for himself, but the only thing he did was leave the store the second he heard police and ambulance sirens blaring.

Running off traumatized, Ash ran into a dark alley. The shadows making the boy feel as if he had been running in circles until he came into contact with a dead end.

Smashing his face into the brick wall, he began to whimper as he crawled into a corner and cried helplessly.

* * *

**(Flashback end)**

"Dad! There's someone hurt bad over here!"

Fluttering his eyes open, Ash, could've sworn he heard voices, but who could it have been? The cops…? No…it was the sound of a boy…

"Oh my goodness! What's happened to you!"

But to no use, Ash dozed off into unconsciousness as a pair of big arms swooped him up.

And then the man along with his boy ran back to their car, setting it into drive and in a hurry…left.

…

Once again, fluttering his eyes open, the teenage boy shot his eyes open and found himself staring into a white ceiling.

'_Where am I?' _Was his initial thought as he shifted into his bed, wincing once the pain had shot itself in his leg.

Just then, he heard the door open, revealing the doctor and behind them was what looked like a family of four. Two adults…and their two kids.

The two he had immediately recognized as the man and boy who had saved him, but the other two had completely different faces.

The first was a woman with curly brownish hair, a pink sweater and a reddish skirt. She had somehow reminded him of his mother those years back, but just thinking about prior events had shot another sense of pain, but to his heart.

And setting his eyes over to the second person nearly brought him back to unconsciousness. The other was a girl, who looked about his age, maybe a year or two younger, had long, curly brunette hair that reached her mid back and eyes the same color as the necklace he pickpocketed. She was so beautiful…

"Are you feeling alright?" The doctor finally asked, breaking him out of his trance.

Ash physically shook his head, attempting to hide his reddening cheeks. "Yes…um…thank you," He muttered.

Nodding, the doctor took a few notes on his clipboard and left, leaving Ash with the family.

"…What's your name?" The man of the family asked.

"Ash…Ash um…Ketchum," The boy shakily answered.

"Nice to meet you Ash. I'm Norman and this is my family. This is my son, Max, my wife, Caroline, and my daughter May," He said, gesturing to each member of his family.

The moment he had introduced his daughter to the boy, May and Ash both began to blush furiously.

Ash flicked his greasy black hair, making his bangs hiding his eyes, while May set her gaze to the hospital floor, digging her foot into the ground.

"It's nice to meet you all," He had finally said.

"Great…now Ash? Do you have any parents that we can call? They must be worried sick about you," Caroline had asked the boy, caringly.

He shook his head. "No parents…my mother died when I was little and my father disappeared shortly after."

His previous statement shocked the two. "How old are you?" Max, Norman's 9 year old son cut in.

"I'm 16 years old," He replied.

"We're…terribly sorry about that. How would you like to maybe stay with us for a little while?" Norman asked.

In response the boy shook his head. "I'm afraid I have to decline. You've already done me the favor of taking me to a hospital and been extremely nice to me…so I couldn't.

"Oh please. We insist," Caroline smiled.

Ash immediately perked up at this idea and turned to briefly look over at May from the corner of his eye, and was surprised to see a hidden smile making its way over her face.

"I'd love that. Thank you very much."

"The pleasure is all ours…for now though, get some rest. You're going to need it for a full recovery."

Ash nodded and brushed his bangs out of face. "Okay," I'll be speaking to you all later then…thank you once again."

"Alright, see you soon Ash."

And just at that moment, the whole family stepped out of Ash's room to leave him rest.

…

Flopping his head back into his pillow, the teenage boy's thoughts drifted over to his family.

_...Why did you leave father? Where are you?...The two questions that had been left unanswered for so many years, was literally tearing him apart._

But that wasn't all that his mind reflected on for the past minute.

Soon enough, a certain 15 year old brunette haired girl…one that he had just met…crossed his thoughts.

She was so beautiful…and living in the same home as her? Maybe he would have a chance…

But that's when his exhaustion had taken his body over, forcing him to fall into a slumber state, and just allowing his dreams reflect upon everything for him.

* * *

**Ok…so what did you all think? It was pretty fun to write this IMO, so I wouldn't have a problem continuing this. **

**So all thoughts/comments from you will be appreciated, so I'll see you all next time!**


	2. Family

**Chapter 2**

* * *

The past couple of days in the hospital went fairly well for Ash, with of course the exception of his leg hurting like hell every so often.

But those times were made up every time he got to see May along with her family…nah just May.

The only thing that had upset him was that he was going to be required to use crutches for a few weeks until his leg fully recovered…so that meant no stealing or even getting the chance to run.

…

Ash sighed to himself as the doctor along with the Maples walked in through the door to his room.

"Well…Ash. Are you ready to leave the hospital?" The doctor asked.

He nodded excitedly. "Of course! It gets pretty boring just sitting around here for days."

"I completely understand. Now I have your crutches here…"

"Great!" He exclaimed.

Taking the equipment from the doctor, Ash was just about to step onto the floor when his leg unexpectantly gave out. "Now let's see… Ah!"

Shrieking, May jumped over to prevent the boy from falling by extending her arms out to catch his body before he fell onto the hospital floor.

Looking up, the boy flushed bright red in embarrassment. "T-thanks."

"No…problem," May blushed before rehanding him the two crutches.

This time, Ash tucked each crutch under his armpit before lifting his wounded leg from touching the ground.

"Good reflexes May," Norman chuckled.

"Yeah. If only your reflexes were as good as your brain!" Max laughed.

"Why you little…" May growled before practically pouncing on top of her smaller brother.

"Take it easy on him May. He was just kidding around," Ash laughed.

Just as May was about to crack Max's skull open, she stopped. "I guess…but that doesn't give him the right to make fun of me!" She pouted.

Norman and Caroline just shook their heads before motioning for everyone to follow them out of the hospital.

* * *

Being in the car for around an hour, the family pulled up in front of a Pokemon gym, which greatly surprised the boy.

In reality, he had been expecting maybe a one or two story house, but seeing a huge gym as their home…this was all new to him.

"This is where you guys live?"

Norman nodded. "Yeah. Why don't you take a look around?"

Hesitantly, getting out of the vehicle, the group walked over to the double doors.

Norman began fumbling around his jacket, before pulling out a gold key to unlock the doors.

"After you," Norman smiled, gesturing inside.

Ash smiled. "Thank you," And walked in.

…

* * *

Taking a look around the gym nearly made Ash's jaw drop.

He had never been used to living in such a big household, let alone a simple house.

I mean, sure he lived with his parents in their normal 1 story house, but he could only get a faint picture of what it looked like.

"This is…just…wow…" Ash muttered.

Norman chuckled. "Allow me to show you around."

"Can I come too?" May asked.

"Sure, May. Caroline, why don't you and Max prepare brunch? Surely Ash must be starving."

In response, his wife happily obliged. "Exactly what I was planning to do. Come on Max."

Dragging the boy towards the kitchen, Norman led the way with the two teens following closely behind him.

* * *

"…Here we have the gym. Being the local gym leader, I always take challenges from any Pokemon trainer and this is where we battle…"

Ash stood wide eyed, casting his eyes across the large room. "Wow…"

"Do you have any Pokemon, Ash?" May asked, curiously.

He shook his head. "I never even battled with one before."

"Oh really?" Norman asked, amused. "Would you care if I taught you?"

He shrugged. "Sure. It sounds pretty interesting."

"Great. Maybe later though. My Pokemon are currently resting, so as soon as they wake up, we can begin."

"Great!" Ash exclaimed.

"Moving on!" Norman declared.

So for the remaining time, Norman showed Ash pretty much everywhere. Rooms, hallways, the kitchen, where the Pokemon rest, the greenhouse, where the spare pokemon are kept, etc.

"And lastly…here's the gym, except this is where I work out."

Looking around, Ash noticed many weights, ellipticals, treadmills… they were all there.

"Maybe I could help you get in shape too!" Norman said.

Ash, slightly offended by his statement, pushed the matter forward. "What's wrong with my body?"

"Well…no offense, but you've got to put on some muscle. I mean look at those arms! They're smaller than Torchic wings!"

"Dad!" May scolded. "He's perfect!" She added above a whisper.

But May had to admit…Ash could gain more muscle…okay, maybe a ton more muscle.

"May I try to prove you wrong?" Ash asked.

Norman smirked. "Of course! But do be careful of your leg-"

Sprinting off, Ash grabbed ahold of one of the weights on the shelf, and tried to pry it off.

Embarrassing to the boy, he couldn't even lift it one centimeter from the shelf, while Norman just laughed quietly to himself. "Are you ready to accept defeat?"

Slapping his arm lightly, May gave her dad a pouty face, while Ash continued to lift the weight.

After the umpteenth time, the raven haired teenager gave up.

Panting heavily, he spoke. "Ok…maybe I do need to get in shape…"

"That's my boy! I'll get you some muscle, but I warn you. It takes a long time to actually gain some, especially in the condition you're in."

"Don't worry. I'm willing," Ash replied.

"Great. Now why don't we grab some brunch? You must be starving."

Ash nodded. "Let's go then."

And with nothing left to say, the three left.

…

Finally arriving to the kitchen, Caroline had just finished placing the remaining dishes onto the table.

Sitting down, was already Max licking his lips at the amount of food, and just knowing how well his mother cooked just rose his anticipation.

And just then, the rest of the family, including Caroline sat themselves at the table.

Norman sitting next to his wife, Max next to his mother, and Ash and May sitting next to each other, across from the other three.

…

Needless, to say, Ash was amazed by how good the food looked. Even for those, who considered this type of food just…normal, Ash felt like he was a king at his castle.

Heck, he'd even be fine just eating a rotten apple from the trash can.

So, he picked up his fork and began to dig away at the many dishes, from the eggs to bacon, to sandwiches, to even the pie, Ash dug and dug away.

The parents were pretty impressed to see such a boy eat without manners that they wondered if they boy even knew what food was.

Ash eventually looked up to see all of the family members paying more attention to him rather than their food, which in fact made him embarrassed.

"Oh! I'm sorry for the way I'm eating. It's just…I've never had a decent meal like this…in forever."

"No worries Ash," Caroline said.

And once again, he was off, eating like there was no tomorrow, making everyone return to their food.

"So Ash? Would you like to head back to the training room? Your muscles aren't just going to grow themselves."

"But you just ate!" Caroline scolded from across the table.

"Oh, Caroline! He's a man; he can take care of himself, right Ash?" Norman retaliated.

In response, the boy just nodded.

"Well, be careful, but nothing that puts pressure on your leg!"

But it was too late. Norman had already dragged the poor boy back to the room.

…

* * *

"Ok Ash. Since you can't do normal weightlifting how about we do a different approach? Show me how many push-ups you can do."

The raven haired boy nodded before setting himself down on one of the training mats.

Getting into push up position, Ash raised his wounded leg and put all his strength to lower his body.

And so Norman began to call out how many push-ups Ash was doing.

"One…two…two…two and a half? Three."

And Ash collapsed to the floor just at three push-ups, panting heavily.

"All right…show me some sit ups."

The boy agreed, and layed on his back, his legs curled and hands fastened behind his head.

Attempting to lift himself from the floor, Norman began to count again.

"One…two…"

And that was it. Ash didn't even make the full second one, but Norman decided to take it easy on him...but like it mattered anyway.

"Boy! You REALLY need to work out more. Have you done any form of training before you got here?"

Ash shook his head and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Nope. Just walking and running."

The older man nodded in understanding. "Makes sense. Here, let's start you off with some weights, but they will be much lighter, alright?"

"Okay," Ash replied.

Getting up from crouch position, Norman walked over to the weights and picked up a light, but decent 15 weight dumbbell.

"Here. Try this."

Taking the weight from the man, Ash slightly gasped at the sudden heaviness, but quickly brought it up, and did several curls.

"Don't forget to bring your arm all the way through…" He reminded.

Ash did as he was told and did the rest of the weight lifting.

And to be honest, Ash was making good…no... amazing progress so far.

After getting used to the 15 weight, he moved up to the 20, and now the 25.

He was struggling a bit at the later ones, but he still managed to do some bicep curls.

"Good! Now let's improve your sit ups."

Dropping the weights to his feet, Ash let out a sigh of relief…but boy he didn't know what he was up against.

"Give me at least 5 sit ups."

…Sitting himself on his back, Ash began to do the exercise.

"One…two…three…four…five…six!"

Just as he finished his sixth rep, Ash dropped his head back to the floor.

"Alright…now push-ups…let's see if you got any better at those."

And Ash did them. "One…two…three…four…five…"

And that was it for him. The change in his exercise had worn him out greatly, but at least he made the good progress.

"Still a bit iffy on the push-ups, but I think you've gotten better!" The older man praised.

"Thanks."

"Now…time for the real fun. Let's show you how to battle."

* * *

Norman and Ash made their way around the gym once again, and they soon found the battle arena.

"Ok, Ash. Now I'm sure you've seen battles before, correct?"

He nodded. "Yeah, but I've never battled before."

Norman shrugged. "Well, that's what I'm testing now. You're going to go against me, and I won't teach you how to do anything…so you're instincts are going to be all up to you. And don't worry…I'll be going easy on you."

"Okay," Was all Ash said, before pulling out the Pokeball Norman had allowed him to borrow from the spare Pokemon room.

"Caroline!" Norman shouted.

After a couple of minutes, a head peeked through the doors to the battle arena. "Yes, dear?"

"Could you referee this match?"

She nodded. "Of course!" and stepped in with May and Max coming in as well.

…

Caroline had stepped in the referee box, Max and May had sat themselves at the bleachers to watch, and Norman and Ash at opposite sides.

"This is the battle between Norman Maple, the Petalburg Gym leader and our new guest, Ash! Begin!"

Smirking, Norman pulled a red and white sphere from his jacket and threw it onto the field. "Slaking! I choose you!"

Looking down at his own Pokeball, Ash hurled it onto the field, revealing a white furred ape Pokemon.

"Now, Ash. That Pokemon right there is called Vigoroth, a normal type. Now, I'm afraid that's all I can say to you, so without more disrupting I'm going to start the match."

Ash nodded and awaited the first move to be made by the gym leader…and soon enough, it came.

"Slaking! Hammer Arm!"

Trying to remember everything he knew about Pokemon battles in the past, Ash shouted out the only thing that came to mind.

"Dodge!"

The white ape, Pokemon leaped in the arm, causing Slaking's arm to emit a loud thud from the contact of the ground.

"Slaking, use Bulldoze!"

"Vigoroth, protect yourself from the attack!" Ash ordered.

And Vigoroth, in response, threw up a green orb around its body, causing the attack to be almost useless.

"…Go Dad!" Max suddenly shouted from the bleachers.

May, frowned to herself as she did something her father would've never expected. "Go, Ash!"

Now normally, Norman was used to having his children cheer for him whenever he had a challenger, but the sudden change in plan had nearly caused him to lose concentration in the match.

"Vigoroth! Attack! Use something!" Ash called out desperately.

And just then, Vigoroth's claws grew bright white as it charged at Slaking, slashing at him a numerous amount of times.

Now Norman was getting a bit annoyed losing to a novice. He wasn't going to lose the match, and especially the respect for his little boy, Max.

"Slaking! Charge in with Retaliate!"

Charging in, Vigoroth stood wondering if his trainer was going to give him a command, but all Ash muttered was. "Wait for it…"

And the moment when Slaking's fist was about to come into contact with Vigoroth's face, Ash yelled out.

"Dodge!"

…

And that was the end of the match. Slaking had slammed into the gym wall and fell onto the rough terrain beneath him causing him to faint.

Gaping, Caroline had finally broken her trance and raised her right arm.

"Slaking is unable to continue! So the winner of this match is Ash and Vigoroth!"

The win had shocked everyone in the room. Not just Caroline and Norman, or their kids, but Ash as well.

Swelling up with happiness, the boy ran onto the field, tackling Vigoroth into a hug.

"You did awesome out there, buddy!" Ash cried.

Vigoroth just smiled to the boy and allowed him to be engulfed in his embrace.

…In the meanwhile, Norman just returned his fainted Pokemon before walking over to Ash.

And just as Ash had let go of his Pokemon, he was tackled into a hug from another person

Nearly gasping at the hug, Ash could only see a brown blur along with the feeling of a much slender and warm body over his.

…

Chuckling, Norman spoke. "That's enough May. You don't want to choke our guest.

May blushed and got up from the boy. "I'm sorry! I totally forgot about your leg!"

"It's…alright," Ash replied, placing his crutches back in their original places.

"I can't believe you lost dad!" Max said as he ran over to the group.

Norman sighed and placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "I lost, but Ash here did an awesome job. He's the one that deserves the win."

Ash smiled at all the praise. It felt good knowing he had a hidden talent in battling…he just never discovered it until now.

"You say you've never battled before, Ash?" Caroline asked as she approached the rest of the group.

He nodded. "Yup. Never battled."

"That's amazing. You have some talent in battling. One of the best I've ever seen."

"Thanks," Ash grinned.

"...Well…as much as I'd like to stay and chat, but we should probably be heading to bed. It's getting late, and we best be getting our rest," Norman stated.

Thinking for a short moment, everyone complied with the man's request.

* * *

**Ok…so that was the second chapter. Like it? Hate it? Let me know in a review below!**


	3. Capture

**Chapter 3**

* * *

…

"Boss we've just captured a small amount of Pokemon in Petalburg City…should we get anything else?"

Sitting at a large black chair was a tall man, his face hidden by the shadows in the room. Speaking loud and clear, his grunt took in all the orders he was given, doing his best to please the boss.

"Yes. If you can, get a few of your crew to and steal anything valuable. Other than that, I have no official orders as of now…but you know the top secret plan, correct?"

"Yes sir… Would there be anything else?"

He shook his head. "That will be all. You're dismissed."

"Yes sir."

* * *

The past night, Ash had slept like a baby. All nights of lack of sleep, uncomfortable positioning, or occasionally watching out for the cops had all been made up for the sleep he was receiving today.

Snoring very loudly, Ash stirred in his sleep, suddenly hearing the sound of his door opening and then shortly shutting.

"…Ash? …Ash? ASH!"

Ash groggily opened his eyes to have a pair of blue eyes meet his own…some he immediately recognized as May's.

"W-what?" He croaked out.

"We're all waiting for you…breakfast is ready," May answered, smiling.

Ash took a short glance at the clock and it read 9:30 a.m.

"Okay. I'll be right down…" He muttered.

"Ok, but don't go back to sleep! I'll be back to give you a piece of my mind if you aren't down in the next 5 minutes!"

Ash chuckled as he complied with the girl's request, throwing himself off his bed and looking around.

"May?"

"Huh? What is it?"

"Are there any clothes I can wear? I only have the pair I have on me right now."

It was true. May had instantly noticed the clothing Ash had been wearing the previous day. At this moment, he had only been wearing an old white t shirt with his dark jeans, his hoodie and sneakers next to his bed.

"Well…we can always go shopping later!" May beamed.

The second shopping had reached the boy's the mind, he immediately thought the word: "Shoplifting."

But those were his old life habits…and he was determined to fix them for the better.

"Sounds great," He smiled.

"Awesome! Now come on, my family must be tired of waiting," She giggled.

Ash blushed as he reached for his crutches, placing each one under his armpit and leaving with May.

…

* * *

The pair had finally reached the kitchen after a long while of dashing through the large house. And to be quite honest, Ash was curious how such a girl could memorize the ways of such a big house, but he brushed those thoughts aside.

"Oh hey Ash! How did you sleep?" Norman greeted when the duo entered the room.

"Just fine. Thank you Mr. Maple."

"That's good to hear Ash. How's your leg holding up?" Caroline asked.

"Much better, Mrs. Maple," The boy answered.

Grabbing a seat for himself, Ash sat himself down at the table and begun to dig into the food sitting at his plate.

"…So…mom? Is it ok if I take Ash out shopping? He has no other clothes than what he's wearing."

"That's a great idea May! Is that fine with Ash, though?" Caroline asked.

"Of course. It was my idea after all," Ash spoke.

"And Ash. If it's okay with you, can we continue our training? You have a huge talent with battling and of course…there's that muscle thing as well…" Norman said.

Ash nodded. "Yeah, sure. I would've done it either way."

The older man smirked. "Excellent."

* * *

May Maple was now waiting outside for Ash as he put the remainder of his clothes on.

It was currently chilly in Petalburg City, so May was currently wearing a pink jacket along with a dark skirt with long black boots.

So she waited and waited until the door to her home had finally opened, revealing Ash walking on his crutches with the same clothing on when he had been shot.

Flicking his long hair, but in a cool manner, Ash spoke. "Let's go."

…

Over the next couple minutes, the two had walked over to a nearby mall. It was the largest one in the city and had a wide variety of stores.

There were clothing stores, electronic stores, Pokemon stores…there was just everything there.

But that's what was horrible for Ash. He was so tempted to steal something, which he began to shake a bit and sweat very slightly.

He took a deep breath. He was more than determined not to return to his life on the streets since it reminded him too much of the hell he's been through. And most importantly…he didn't want May to know who he really was. The real reason he got shot or what he was running away from was not something he wanted to be notorious for.

…"Here, this place sells some great clothes that I think you'll like!"

Ash nodded and followed closely behind the brunette haired girl as she led him through the mall and into the certain store.

…

Soon walking into the store, Ash was surprised by the amount of items they carried.

There were expensive jewelry, clothes, shoes, small souvenirs, and etc.

He tried his best to look away from the more expensive items and focus more on the clothing along with the girl standing next to him.

* * *

The two had spent the rest of their time shopping for Ash.

May threw clothes at him left and right, to which he all tried on in the men's changing room.

May had bought all the clothes Ash had picked out with the money her parents gave her and walked out with all the bags in her arms.

Just when things could've gotten any more normal, the room to the store they had been in had suddenly began to fill up with smoke…followed with screams and loud coughs.

The sudden invasion had gained the attention of everyone in the mall. Loud sirens calling for the police to which they had immediately run into the store.

Followed with the screams were gunshots and sounds of brawling.

Taking immediate action, Ash walked back into the store.

"ASH! WHERE ARE YOU GOING?"

…Too late, the second Ash walked in, he felt a sharp blow to the head, to which he was knocked on the floor.

Sensing the sound of footsteps, Ash grabbed ahold of his crutches and hit the intruder in the stomach.

It was a blind shot because of the smoke, but it was enough to knock the person back a bit.

But with the action was also the feeling of two people come from behind him and lift him off the floor.

Before he knew it, he was being dragged back up to the ceiling with the other intruders.

He had been captured and horror had been growing within him at every second.

…

Alas, the smoke had cleared and what revealed was a mess.

All the jewelry and valuable items were missing along with a few dead civilians and injured cops sprawled on the floor.

*cough* *cough* "Charlie, did you catch sight of what any of the intruders looked like?" *cough* cough*

"No, Mike. *cough* One thing's for sure. We catch the bastard's who did this," The other cop answered.

* * *

May was growing extremely worried by now. She had seen a few people walk out with the escort of cops, but no sign of Ash.

"Ash?"

May walked into the room…and saw a pair of crutches lying on the floor.

"I'm sorry little lady, but this area is off limits as of now," One the cops said to her.

"My friend! He's gone!"

"Again, I apologize, but we can't do much about it right now, but let us sort this all out."

Running off with tears flooding her eyes, May left the mall and ran home.

…

The past hour, Ash had felt himself being thrown carelessly into the back of a spy plane, sobbing by the amount of pain that shot through his leg.

So in the meantime, all Ash could do was worry where he was going to be taken to. Thinking to himself if he was going to be survive. But for some reason, this even had struck a bell in his brain.

The same style of intrusion, the same screams, and everything…had sparked a memory from his childhood.

Were these the same people that captured his father? Were they the ones who robbed the store he had been at and killed his mother? Gosh, he would like to know.

…Not pushing the topic any further, Ash drifted off to sleep in the back of the plane.

* * *

"Mom! Dad!"

Barging in through the front door of her house, May had begun to scream desperately for her parents.

"Huh? What's wrong May? Where's Ash?" Her mother asked, very concerned.

"He's disappeared! We went to the mall a-and something happened and now he's g-gone!" May sobbed.

"Start over from the beginning May, and tell us what's happened," Her father said, gently.

Staring up at her parents, May walked over to retrieve the television remote and switched the T.V on.

…Almost immediately the news had appeared on the screen, showing the following broadcast.

_Tragic event at Petalburg City Mall.5 people killed at store and police opening fire on the intruders. All policemen are reported to be fine with several injured…_

Watching the television screen, the two's mouth's had dropped to the floor.

* * *

Ash found himself slowly waking up to a conversation between two people as the backdoor to the plane had been lifted open and Ash had been thrown out.

"Ouch!" Ash winced.

The two people didn't say anything and got on both sides of Ash and dragged him into a tall building ahead.

…

Eventually walking in, Ash had immediately noticed many people walking around in dark uniforms with red "R"s plastered on the shirts.

But that observation didn't last long the second he was thrown into a room.

He once again winced from the pain in his leg, but looked up to find a man, sitting at a black chair and staring down at him intimidatingly.

"Do you have any idea as to why you're here?" The man finally spoke.

"Wha? I have no clue…" He replied.

"I thought so…allow me to explain. The building you're in right now is called the Team Rocket Headquarters. I am the boss and let me tell you…we've heard you've got quite the talent for stealing, correct?"

Ash hesitantly nodded. "Where are you going with this?"

"Would you like to join us? With your skills you could make an excellent recruit. You see, our job as Rockets are to steal the valuable and to someday turn the world into a much bigger and major place."

"I…couldn't…go back to my old ways. I'm past that…" Ash muttered.

"Shame…it's such an honor to have a person like you on the team. Think of all the things you could obtain. All the power, valuables, Pokemon….you wouldn't want to miss that."

"Well…"

The mysterious man suddenly turned his head from the shadow and revealed his face. It was rough and old looking, but he had light brownish hair…

This immediately sparked something for Ash. He seemed so familiar, yet so…different…

But who was it?

Thinking to himself, he finally brought his head up, eye level to the man in front of him. Letting out a gasp as he brought his hand straight up to his mouth.

"…Dad."

…

* * *

It had been quite a while now, and the Maples had no luck of finding Ash. He could've been anywhere now and the police only gave them the same answer as they did with May earlier.

"_We're sorry, but we cannot do anything at the moment, but we assure you that we will take care of this."_

…Gosh, May hated herself. How could she just let Ash go like that in the condition he was in?

She sighed to herself as she mentally berated her actions at the mall. So stupid…

"Hey May, don't worry. We'll find him…" Max assured.

Looking up from the palm of her hands to her younger brother, May smiled. "Thanks, Max."

"No problem. I mean, why would you expect your boyfriend to come back anyway?" Max said in a singsong voice.

"Max!"

And so there it was. The younger boy sprinted across the house with May hot on his heels, eager to catch him and smash his skull open.

...

Norman and Caroline sighed as they watched their kids run in circles around the house, just hoping that Ash would somehow be alright.


	4. Training

**Chapter 4**

* * *

"Excuse me?" The man asked, somewhat bothered.

Ash gaped at the man sitting right in front of him. He brushed his bangs from his eyes to reveal more of his bare face to the man, thus making him freeze.

"…Ash? Is that you?"

He nodded. "It's me…"

Giovanni moved up to give his son a hug, but too soon for Ash's liking, he separated.

"I'm sorry son; I just had no idea that you were the infamous criminal that we had our eye on."

"I had no idea that you were the…boss of this criminal organization!" Ash shouted.

He nodded. "I can't explain now…and this is very unlike me, but how would you like to join us?"

"Wha-?"

The two grunts from behind Ash nudged him rather harshly for an answer.

"O-Ok! Fine! I'll do it!" Ash finally spoke.

Giovanni slowly nodded his head. "Are you sure you want this, Ash? I warn you that training as a Rocket will most likely be the hardest thing you've ever done…"

Ash nodded. "I'm sure. If it means spending time with you…then of course…"

He smiled. "Thanks for that, son, but I'm afraid you won't be seeing much of me. The only time you would be seeing me is when you report back with your missions."

"Oh…but I thought you would be the one training me," Ash said.

The older man just shook his head. "No…I have someone else to take care of that."

Ash cocked an eyebrow. "Who?"

…"Domino!" He shouted.

Soon enough…the doors to the room opened, showing a rather tall blond haired girl with sharp violet eyes and wearing a dark Team Rocket uniform.

"Yes, boss?"

"Hello, Domino. This here is my son, Ash. He's the one that we've had our eye on…you know the criminal lingering on the streets?"

"He-he's your son?" She gasped.

He nodded in response. "Yes, the news has shocked me as well, but he's decided to join us, so I'm ordering you to be his mentor for now."

"Yes sir!" She stated firmly. "What is it that you would like me to teach him?"

"Everything a criminal needs to learn…like lock picking, hacking equipment, hand to hand combat, stealth…just about everything. He needs to excel in every quality possible including his physical strength…I'm requiring you to get him in shape for the tasks he will be doing in the future."

"Um…dad?"

Giovanni paused and glanced over at his son. "Yes, Ash?"

"You see, I've injured my leg, so I'm afraid I'm incapable of doing those things until it's fully healed…"

Giovanni seemed to think for a moment, before replying. "Domino, can you take him over to the clinic to heal his leg and have a normal checkup? Just to see how he's doing?"

She nodded. "Yes, boss."

Domino then proceeded to help Ash by placing an arm around his waist so that he can hop on his uninjured leg over to the clinic.

…

* * *

Ash was now laying in one of the hospital beds of the clinic. He began thinking about May and her family about how much they would be worrying about him…shoot! He totally forgot to return to them! But even if he wanted to…how could he? In the shape his leg was in, he might as well just crawl his way back to Petalburg City.

He sighed to himself as he looked over at Domino, who was sitting on a chair across from his bed, writing on a clipboard.

…"What are you writing?" Ash finally asked.

"Notes on your behavior. You see…your father wanted me to gather every little detail of you. Like your habits, fears, behavior, strengths, weaknesses…just anything I could find," She replied, writing down a few more notes.

Ash grimaced, but just let the statement slide for now.

* * *

Finally, the nurse had arrived and was now just about to help Ash.

After the nurse exchanged a quick conversation with Domino, she turned to look at him lying on the bed.

"So I hear your leg is in a bad condition?"

"Yeah. It's been hurting like hell for a while now," He said.

The nurse nodded and hooked up an Iv looking equipment into Ash leg.

…

The teenage boy slightly winced at the pain, but noticed the pain in his leg slowly start to decrease, until he finally felt no pain at all.

"...Huh..? My leg feels…fine now," Ash muttered as he moved his wounded leg around. "No pain…no nothing…"

The nurse smiled. "It's a special type of medication that we've developed that fixes any type of wound almost instantaneously," She explained.

"Wow…thanks."

"No problem, but now that that's done, I've got to run a quick check up on you to see how you're doing physically."

Ash nodded and layed his head deeper into the hospital bed as the nurse ran a series of tests.

…

"Alright…I have the results and Ash…you're doing okay, but your body weight is below average and your muscles are not completely developed…"

In response, Ash looked down ashamed. It was in fact true.

Ash was quite scrawny and weak looking, almost making him look like a pile of bones just glued together.

"…But that's not all…" The nurse started.

"W-What else is there?" Ash nervously asked.

"You have the ability to possess Aura."

Ash looked at her in a confused way, while Domino looked beyond baffled.

"What's aura?" He curiously asked.

"Aura is the spiritual energy that flows through all of us…but less than 5 percent of the world contain people called 'Aura Guardians' which are people who have the ability to control aura to heal, use it as a weapon, and many other extraordinary things," Domino explained.

Ash looked prideful. "Humph! Well it seems like there's at least one thing good about me!"

Domino shook her head. "Nuh uh. That's where the training starts."

Ash gulped.

* * *

The past hour, Domino had led Ash to an exercise room, similar to the one Norman had, but at least twice as big.

The raven haired boy looked around and saw that the room was already occupied with a couple of Rocket grunts, who were all eyeing Ash suspiciously.

He turned his head away from them in an attempt to avoid their gazes, but he still had the feeling of many people staring at him.

"Alright give me as many push-ups as you can."

Ash looked up. "W-what?"

"Push-ups. I have to see how many you're capable of doing now."

Ash nodded and got into push up position, then pushing his body up and down, managing to knock out a little less than 20.

Ash glanced up at the blonde haired girl, around his age, who just took a few notes on her clipboard.

"Now show me how many sit ups."

Ash obeyed her as he layed flat on his back and lifted his body from the ground several times, managing to knock out a little more than 10.

Jotting down a few more notes, Domino spoke. "You're doing okay, but we still have much progress to cover with you. Every morning, I want to see you training in this exact room, doing as many exercises that you can pull off, alright?"

He nodded.

"Moving along," She announced.

* * *

…

The duo had walked around the whole building. Domino showed him all the rooms like the Pokemon battlefield, the cafeteria, the clinics, and so much more.

"…And these here are the dorm rooms, this here is your room and…here's your key."

Domino pulled out a golden key from her pocket and handed it over to Ash.

Taking it from her, Ash walked over to the door and opened it.

…

Walking into his room, Domino followed closely behind.

"Ok…so this is your room. You have one bathroom, a whole set of Rocket uniforms, a bed, and so on as you can see…so if you ever need anything, you can always feel free to just ask me."

Taking a look around the room, Ash had to admit it was pretty nice. It was plain and simple…but that's exactly what he liked. Plain and simple…

"Thanks, Domino."

"Not a problem…but we have much to work on with you."

"Like what now?"

"Like teaching you how to do many criminal stunts…you're going to be required to learn them all if you want your first mission from your father."

Ash nodded. "Ok…so where do we start?"

"I'm going to teach you the basics of pickpocketing, alright?"

"But…I already…"

"I know you already know how to do something like that…but if you're going to learn, we have to start from the basics. Do you have a problem with that?"

He shook his head. "No…"

"Very well...get changed into your uniform and meet me in the training room."

"Okay."

…

* * *

Domino waited patiently for Ash in the training room, but was rather amused to find him pushing the door open to the room and walk in.

"You made it," She commented.

Ash rolled his eyes. "I sure have. Now…pickpocketing?"

"Yep. See this key?"

"Of course."

"Try to pick this off of me," She replied, before dropping it into her back pocket.

Ash nodded once Domino turned around.

Moving his hand over to the pocket, he quickly snatched the key and hid it in his own pocket.

"Did you do it?" She asked.

"Yeah," He replied.

The rocket elite turned around and felt her back pocket, and was pleased to find that the item was in fact gone.

"Very good, may I see the key?"

Ash then dug his hand into his pocket and revealed the key sitting flat on the palm of his hand.

"Excellent."

"Great…now can we get something to eat? I'm starved."

Domino chuckled. "Sure."

* * *

The raven haired boy began digging into his sandwich like there was no tomorrow, while occasionally taking large gulps of the bottled water that stood next to his plate of food.

Domino on the other hand took small bites from her salad, while occasionally taking short glances at Ash and writing on her clipboard.

The next thing she wrote: _"Lack of manners at the table."_

…

Soon enough Ash had finished his whole sandwich, licking at his lips and rubbing his stomach with delight, while Domino's eyes were still glued to her clipboard.

"Are you finished?" She finally asked.

"Yes…" He smiled. "What's next on the list?"

"Training your aura. I would like to see how well you've developed it."

He shrugged. "Sure, but I've never even used it before…yet even know about it before."

"That's alright. We have some tests we can run you through and you can improve from there."

Ash nodded. "Sounds good."

Domino nodded and dumped their trays in the trash before taking Ash to yet another room.

* * *

…

"Wait…what am I supposed to do?"

"Close your eyes, focus only on the energy within you, and place your hands up to emit your aura."

Ash shot her a confused look, to which she just sighed. "Just do it."

He then proceeded to shut his eyes and follow the girl's instructions as he stood in an empty room with Domino watching through the glass windows.

...

Concentrating on nothing but his spiritual energy like Domino instructed, Ash had managed to emit a small blue orb from his hands, but it later disappeared the second he opened his eyes and placed his hands on his knees.

"I…can't do…it," He panted. "It takes up too much…energy."

"It's meant to, so if you do happen to use it, make sure to limit yourself. You wouldn't want to pass out during the mission, otherwise that would be a fatal mistake."

"Ok…but what now?"

"Get some rest, it's getting late and you'll need your strength for tomorrow. But remember what I told you. Get your exercise in the morning and then meet me in the cafeteria later."

He nodded and exited the room. "Sure thing."

* * *

**So...how did you like the chapter? Leave a review below because your thoughts/comments are always appreciated!**

**~Ashura Satoshi**


	5. Aura

**Chapter 5**

* * *

The second Ash woke up from his slumber; he headed straight to the gym. But the whole time he kept thinking about what Domino had told him the previous day.

He had the ability to control Aura? The idea was all so new to him, but knowing he was capable of doing something like that? He was pretty impressed with himself.

…

In the gym, Ash was doing as many exercises as he possibly could. He started with a short morning run around the headquarters, then push-ups/sit ups, weight lifting, and other various activities.

Ash was improving pretty quickly, especially now with his healed leg.

What went from a few push-ups and barely two sit ups had turned into nearly less than half a hundred, each.

And now he could lift the heavier weights with much more ease than last time…but he still slightly struggled at those.

Right after his routine, he left to head to the cafeteria to meet up with Domino, fully dressed in his Rocket uniform.

* * *

…

Once arriving to the rather enormous cafeteria, Ash took a glance around the room and no sight of Domino, but instead was greeted with a few stares from the other Rockets.

Awkwardly walking over to pick up a tray, Ash went to get some food, pushing aside the stares as best as he could.

…So Ash took several things, like a plate of scrambled eggs, toast, and bacon, with milk…the usual breakfast.

Sitting himself down, Ash picked at his food with his fork, and shoved it in his mouth, chewing slowly before swallowing.

But that's when Ash had noticed some people approaching him from the corner of his eye.

He turned around for a split second and was lifted from his seat by the collar of his shirt.

"Hey guys, look. It's the rookie," One of the grunts laughed.

"And look at those arms, bro. You've got to be pretty pathetic to have biceps like that," The other guy said.

Ash began to gasp for air, as he gripped onto the man's arm tightly as he continued to grab him by his collar.

All eyes were now on them now…nobody saying anything…but just watching blankly.

That was when things had been broken up.

"Let...go…of…my…mentee," Domino growled.

Immediately letting go of his grasp, Ash dropped to the floor gasping for air.

"Humph. This isn't the last of us," The grunt said before walking away with the other.

* * *

"T-Thanks," Ash muttered, getting to his feet.

"No problem at all…those guys are always causing trouble around here," Domino replied.

Ash got back in his seat, while the Rocket Elite pulled out a chair of her own across from him.

Ash said nothing else, except dug back into his plate, and talking through a muffled mouth full of food. "So…Domino, what are we going to do today?"

"More criminal related skills," She replied, taking out her clipboard and jotting down a few notes.

"Like what?" He asked.

"Well…we'll start with some hacking and stealth…and maybe some hand to hand combat later."

He nodded and shoved another portion of eggs down his mouth. "Sounds good,"

After quickly finishing up, Ash had set aside his tray and dumped the remains in the trash, before being led out by Domino.

* * *

…

After a little bit of walking around the headquarters, Domino had led Ash into a big room.

"What is…this?" Ash finally asked.

"It's an obstacle course. It's supposed to represent a store. So what you have to do is to basically get in and try to steal that jewel over there as quick as you can without triggering any alarms. I will be timing you to keep track of your score."

Ash nodded. "…Sounds simple enough. Anything else I need to know?"

She nodded. "You're also going to need to lock pick the front door to get in, so you'll be needing this."

The raven haired boy took what appeared to be two small metal pieces and gripped them tightly in the palm of his hand.

"You can start whenever you're re-"

Too late. The teenage boy had already took off and stopped right at the front door.

He fumbled with the lock picking equipment, but slid the pieces into the door knob.

Giving it a few twists, the door finally opened.

…Ash then walked in and was greeted with many laser beams that were crossing and intersecting with one another, crowding the whole room.

"Crap…" He thought.

He did his best to shimmy through each of the beams, each getting awfully close to his body.

…

He then finally got across and went over to the jewel, but had just noticed a glass dome around it. He had to hack into the system to get to the jewel.

Shoot, how would he do that? Ash never got to that level of stealing…hacking into something.

It was always just plain getting in and getting out stealing for him…but he had no time to think about that.

He dropped to his knees, where he looked at a screen that required a passcode to unlock the hatch.

Shutting his eyes, to hopefully think of a way to solve the problem himself…something had surprised him.

Opening his eyes, his mouth dropped into an 'O.' He had seen a faint picture of what the code was…with the eyes closed.

Closing his eyes once again, the image became clearer and clearer…the passcode was right there.

He reopened his eyes and quickly punched in the code.

With one 'Snap,' Ash grabbed the jewel and shimmied through the laser beams at a much quicker pace, then opening the door and shutting it.

* * *

"Time!" He heard Domino shout.

"…How long was that?" Ash asked, panting.

"Approximately 10 minutes…but how did you know the code? I haven't taught you anything about hacking."

He shrugged. "I'm not quite sure myself. I shut my eyes and I just saw what passcode was…"

"Aura…" She muttered.

"What?"

"Aura," She repeated, this time louder. "You used your Aura ability to hack that lock."

"Oh…" Ash replied. "Is that a good thing?"

"Extraordinary…" She said. "Never once, have we had a Rocket who could possess Aura. The abilities are remarkable. Giovanni must know about this."

Ash nodded. "Um…now what?"

"Hand to hand combat. If you're a criminal and you get it into a tight situation, it's pretty much mandatory that you know how to fight."

"Ok…" He said. "But are you going to be teaching me?"

"Just follow me," She replied.

…

* * *

Once more, Domino had led Ash to another room…a bit smaller than the obstacle course and a look alike of the training room, but it was currently being occupied by two other people.

The first person was what appeared to be a rather muscular man, slightly older than Ash and Domino, who was currently fighting one of the grunts.

Ash and Domino approached the two fighting men, and had seen the first man pin the Grunt to the floor.

The grunt then tapped the floor lightly, causing the man to release his lock. "Good work today, Will. I'll see you later," He finally spoke.

The other Grunt just nodded and waked out the room.

"…So Domino…what can I do for you?" The man asked.

"Hi, Paine. I need you to give Ash here a quick lesson on hand to hand combat."

The Rocket elite nodded, eyeing Ash up and down like an eagle. "Sure thing, Dom. So…Ash have you ever fought before?"

Ash nodded. "Plenty of times."

"Ok, so maybe the lesson won't be too hard. Just show me what you've got. I'll go easy on you at first, but I'll get progressively harder."

Ash shrugged. "Ok."

Getting into fighting stance, Ash leaped forward to immediately deliver a punch to Paine's face, to which he dodged.

Ash turned around and threw another punch at the man, but to no avail.

Paine had swooped down and delivered a punch straight to Ash's gut, causing him to wince slightly.

…

It was now Paine's turn as he leaped forward to punch Ash in the mid area, which was blocked by Ash's hand, followed with a knee attack.

The Rocket Elite brought his arm down to block the knee, whilst head-butting Ash straight into the face.

The raven haired teen had dropped to the floor, shaking his head to rid his dizziness state, but felt himself being lifted from the ground and thrown over Paine's shoulder.

"…Ouch…" Ash muttered.

"You're supposed to tap the floor if you've given up," Paine explained.

Ash obliged and tapped the floor with his hand, causing Paine to release his hold on him.

"So how was that?" Ash asked, hands on his knees and panting.

"Well...I'll tell ya…you've got some skill at combat, but the way you were fighting was street style. If you fought more…authentic and controlled, I think you could be really good."

Ash nodded. "Thanks. I'll be sure to look into that."

"If you ever want to have another spare with me…or just have any questions in general, you can talk to me. I'm Paine," The man said, offering a handshake.

Ash looked down at his hand and shook it firmly. "Will do. Thanks Paine."

"No problem."

…

* * *

So now Ash and Domino walked out of the room and walked back in the direction of the cafeteria to grab supper.

But one room that the two passed by, caught Ash's interest especially…one in particular.

* * *

With his eyes glued to a glass window in front of him…was the Pokemon arena…currently in use with two people battling.

"…Ash?"

Not taking his eyes off of the battle, Ash spoke. "Y-Yeah?"

"Do you want to be taught Pokemon battling as well?"

He shook his head. "Oh would I! I've only battled once before, but it was awesome!"

The blonde haired Rocket just slightly grinned and gestured for the two to leave. "Come on. Let's get something to eat. You must be starved from all that training."

He chuckled. "Yeah…some food would sound nice."

And he alas took his eyes off the battle to leave with Domino, managing to catch one last glance at it.

* * *

…

In the meantime, Ash and Domino had grabbed a quick bite, before Ash headed off to bed.

Domino had told him that he would get the opportunity to handle a Pokemon once he's gotten better at the other skills he was required to learn…including stealing, lock picking, getting in shape, and so on.

And when Ash had asked her when he would officially get to go on his first mission, she had replied telling him that as soon as they thought he was ready, they would send him off…but that was still a little while from now.

So as soon as that had been done, both went their separate ways. Ash went to get some sleep, while Domino had walked off to speak to Giovanni.

* * *

…

"…Excuse me, boss? Do you have time to talk?"

Giovanni had sat in his original place, just spinning his chair around to face Domino.

"Of course. What is it Domino?"

"Your son. He may just be the first Rocket to be able to control Aura…"

"Impossible," He said strictly.

"No, sir. I've seen it myself. The nurse had discovered his raw talent the moment you told me to take him to the clinic. And when I ran him through the obstacle course, he had been able to unlock the code with Aura."

"…Then I would like to see that for myself. The next time you run a test involving his Aura, I would like to be there to see it."

Domino nodded. "Yes, sir."

…

* * *

That moment, Ash was staring up at the ceiling of his dorm room, changed into his Rocket style night clothes, and lying on his bed just thinking…

Lately, he had been thinking a lot about May…but he just couldn't figure out why. He had that longing desire to see her just one more time…but that was the past.

He was now a part of Team Rocket, and he had duties to fulfill…criminal duties for that matter.

But gosh, he felt guilty. He had promised himself he wouldn't steal anymore…and here he was now, working for a world famous criminal organization with his father. Kinda ironic, huh?

Then his thoughts drifted to his father. Why wouldn't he tell him about _that _event back when he was little? How he just disappeared like that…with those people.

One side of him had told him he was just doing it simply to protect him…but the other part had told him something much darker…almost like he was hiding something from him…but what?

He couldn't possibly ponder the thought any longer before his eyes purposely gave out on him.

* * *

**So...**

**Did you guys like the chapter? Leave a review below and tell me what you think!**

**If you noticed, I modified the abilities of Aura, so that it can now do many other things…like hacking codes demonstrated in this exact chapter.**

**So I guess I won't keep you guys any longer. See ya next time! **

**~Ashura Satoshi**


	6. Pokemon

**Chapter 6**

* * *

_One week later_

Over the past week, Ash's progress in training had skyrocketed. He began doing close to a hundred of push-ups/sit ups, doing better at criminal tasks, and had even beaten Paine a few times at hand to hand combat.

Domino, too had been impressed with the progress Ash has made, but still had one duty to fulfill for the boss…and that was to show him what his son was capable of…aura wise.

Oh yes, Giovanni had been waiting to see Ash's aura for quite a while, and today just so happened to be a great day to do so.

So it's now morning at the moment and Ash had been told to meet her in another room he had been familiar with.

The raven haired boy then quickly performed his morning routine, got dressed in his Rocket uniform and headed out to meet Domino.

…

* * *

Once Ash opened the door to the room, he was instantly greeted by none other than the Rocket Elite, Domino…with Giovanni standing right beside her with a large grin on his face.

"Hello Domino…dad…" Ash greeted. "So what am I here for?"

"To test your Aura. Your father would like to see how well it's developed."

Ash just shrugged and brought his two hands into position, much like he had when he first tried to utilize his power.

…For the seconds that have passed, a small blue sphere had slowly made its way in the center of his hands, growing bigger and bigger as each moment passed.

With his last breath of air, Ash had quickly released his hands from their positioning and placed them on his knees, panting.

In response, Giovanni placed a hand on his son's back, asking him gently. "How do you feel, son?"

"…Tired," He replied wearily. "It takes a lot of energy to wield this thing."

Giovanni nodded, before Domino cut in. "I heard Aura can also be used as a weapon as well…can you try?"

Ash, once again shrugged. "Sure. Just give me a minute."

Placing his hands back in their original position, Giovanni stepped back, allowing him more room before that familiar blue orb reappeared.

Slowly grasping the now rather enormous sphere, Ash hurled it at one of the walls.

…

The bright light from the impact of the sphere had practically blinded Domino and Giovanni, forcing them to put an arm around their eyes.

But soon the two had taken a peek and glanced over at the wall…which now had the hole the size of a basketball.

"Amazing…" Giovanni gaped.

Domino, too stood wide eyed, staring at the wall, until Ash had decided to speak.

"Sorry about the wall," The raven haired boy suddenly said, sheepishly.

"Son?"

"Yes dad?"

"…Forget about the wall. I know just the right Pokemon to give to you."

…

* * *

As soon as the trio had left, they had immediately headed to the spare Pokemon room.

Giovanni was going to give Ash his very first Pokemon…and you can imagine just how excited he was.

"Son…are you ready for your first Pokemon?"

"Oh I'm more than ready! Where is it?" Ash demanded.

"Here you go, son. But promise me one thing?"

"Of course, dad. What is it?"

"Please take care of it. This Pokemon…we've been saving for the first recruit that could use Aura…so it's extra special…alright?"

Ash nodded. "Of course."

"Well here it is..."

Ash had already snatched it from his hands and threw it in a vacant spot right in front of him, revealing a bright white light.

Slowly, but eventually the light had soon morphed into a two legged creature that eventually appeared after a few moments.

"Ash, this is Lucario. Your official Pokemon partner for crime."

"Sweet! …But I thought Domino was going to be my partner?"

"I will be. But every Rocket Grunt and Elite need to have at least one Pokemon on them. For safety reasons."

"So which one am I?" He asked.

"You're classified as a Grunt. You have to become much more skilled to gain the title of Elite like me," She bragged.

Ash frowned. "Fine…but can I battle with Lucario?"

Smiling, Giovanni spoke. "Sure Ash. Domino? Mind giving my son here a few rounds?"

Domino nodded. "Yes sir!"

…

* * *

Standing on opposite sides from one another, Ash and Domino both had those determined looks on their faces. Ash had his hand gripped around his pokeball, while Domino had her arms crossed.

"This match is between Rocket Elite, Domino, and our new Rocket recruit, Ash Ketchum! Begin!" Giovanni shouted.

Throwing a red and white orb onto the field, Domino released another creature, to what looked like an Espeon.

Reciprocating the action, Ash too, released his newly received Lucario.

"…So Ash? Have you ever battled?" Domino called from the other side.

Ash nodded. "Only once."

"Should I ask?"

"Nope. Let's start this thing!" He happily exclaimed.

"Ok, let's see what you got! Espeon, Psybeam!"

"Dodge Lucario!"

Releasing a long Physic wave, Lucario easily dodged the hit and awaited Ash's next command.

"Now use…um…Domino what are Lucario's moves?"

"That's for you to decide!" She shouted. "Espeon, Swift!"

"Lucario, use something!" Ash cried.

Surprisingly, Lucario had listened to Ash and absorbed a blue orb in the palm of its hands before throwing it at the Swift attack.

In result a large explosion was present…but something seemed to be familiar…the orb that Lucario just hurled looked all too familiar to the attack he was capable of using…that's when thing's clicked.

"Lucario! Use Aura…Sphere!"

The blue jackal like Pokemon did just that and hurled the same exact attack, this time hitting Espeon.

"Espeon!" Domino shouted. "Double Team!"

And at that moment, the Psychic Pokemon had duplicated itself into an innumerate amount of clones.

So Ash did what he thought would help him out. He shut his eyes and allowed these "Aura" abilities to hopefully give him some hint of clue…and fortunately it did.

Through his shut eyes, he could see the real Espeon glowing in a bright blue, whilst the other fake ones were a darker shade.

Reopening his eyes, Ash shouted. "Lucario! Use Aura Sphere on the middle one!"

Obeying its new trainer, Lucario had thrown yet another Aura Sphere, hitting the correct clone.

"ESPEON!" Domino shouted.

"Espeon is unable to continue! Ash and Lucario are the winners!" Giovanni finally said.

Slowly, but eventually, a wide grin began to plaster itself on the corner of Ash's lips as he threw his arms up triumphantly.

"I…I WON!"

Smirking, Giovanni walked over to his son, while Domino struggled to stand in place, and just returned her fainted Pokemon.

"I never knew you had such talent, son. I honestly believe you will grow to become an excellent Rocket. I'm proud of you," He said.

Ash smiled to his father and embraced him in a tight hug. Both were squeezing each other tightly.

On the other hand, Domino re strapped the pokeball to her belt, smiled, and walked out the room.

…

* * *

**(Petalburg Gym)**

"May? Are you going to come out yet?"

"…No!"

"Come on, May! You've been in there for days! When will you ever come out?"

"Leave me alone, Max!"

The smaller and younger brother of May sighed to himself. He had tried everything he could to get his sister out of her room, but she just wouldn't cooperate.

"What's wrong, son?"

Max looked up to find his father just standing there with a hand on his shoulder.

"Is she still in her room?" He asked.

Max nodded. "Yeah. She just wouldn't come out."

Putting his mouth to the door, Norman shouted. "May, it's time for lunch!"

"Fine…I'll be right out!" She called back.

Max just shook his head and walked out of the room to get some lunch, while Norman just waited outside the door.

…Eventually the brunette haired girl had stepped out of her room. Eyes slightly bloodshot, and clothes lightly soaked.

"So…you said something about lunch?" May finally asked.

Norman nodded, while May just walked off to the kitchen, leaving Norman standing there by her doorway…by himself.

Norman, curiously took a peek in his daughter's room and found it to be very messy.

Even more curious, he pushed the door completely open and stepped in to find something lying on her bed…one that appeared to be a book…

He picked up the book and read the title, which said: "Diary! Do not touch!" with a pink cover page.

Now, the gym leader knew better than to read his daughter's diary, but he couldn't help but feel curious about what she's written over the years.

For all he could've known, she could be pregnant, and he most certainly didn't want that.

He set the diary down lightly on the bed, before lifting it off the bed once more, and opened the book.

Flipping through each page, he had read brief messages like: "OMG. There's this new guy named Drew and he's sooo dreamy!" or "I seriously…hate my life…" Stuff like that.

It all seemed so innocent…except for the last page…the most recent one.

_Dear Diary,_

_Another day without Ash…*sigh* I don't what it is that I'm feeling. I literally just met him no longer than a week and he's already constantly on my mind. What can this be? A crush? Love? Ugh…whatever, but why him? He seems nice enough…and cute…oh! What am I saying? I really need to sort this out :(_

_I hope you come back soon Ash._

_-May, out xx_

_..._

As Norman's eyes finished scanning through the last sentence, he set the book down and walked out of the room. That serious look never leaving his face.

…

* * *

**(Rocket HQ)**

Right now, Ash was speaking to Domino in the cafeteria over dinner.

Once again, the curious Rocket recruit had asked when his first mission was after Domino had briefly spoke to his father, and her reply was a simple: "Soon."

He was slightly disappointed at hearing that. He was already to looking forward to actually doing something and taking a break from his training…but he didn't complain.

He just kept on doing what he was…supposed to do.

He and Domino quickly finished the remainder of their meal and headed straight on to bed.

…

The moment Ash opened to door to his dorm, he released Lucario.

"Hey Lucario," Ash sighed.

"Hello, Master."

Very much alarmed, Ash did a double take and stared slightly freaked out by Lucario.

"How…did you talk?"

"Your Aura, Master. It allows me to talk to you through what's called telepathy."

Ash, confused at first, just questioned the Pokemon. "Oh ok…so how do I talk to you through…telepathy?"

"Just think rather than speak what you want to say. It should be that easy, Master."

He nodded and tried for himself, finally getting out a telepathic, "Hello."

"Like that?"

"Yes Master," Lucario smiled.

"Awesome! And Lucario? You don't have to call me Master…you can just call me Ash..." The boy sheepishly said.

"My apologies, Master Ash."

Ash laughed and shook his head, throwing himself onto his bed and laying beneath the covers.

"I'm glad you're my Pokemon, Lucario. I know you and I will make great partners in the future."

Lucario, too smiled and replied telepathically. "I very much think so too, Master Ash."

* * *

**So...**

**As you can tell, homework got in my way… again, but I finally got the time to make another chapter to this story, so I hope you've enjoyed.**

**STORY UPDATE *Next chapter to "Evolved From The Dead" will be taking a bit more time, but I promise it will show up eventually!***

**And please Review! All reviews are greatly appreciated!**

**Oh and I never got the opportunity to reply to past reviews, yet ever did it before, so I'll just write responses to some of em' out here! (Sorry if I didn't include you. I've only put some of the more recent ones)**

* * *

**ZPaddty – Geez bro, 2 reviews? Lol and don't worry. I'm not going to be deleting this, but I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**LegitEmi – Thank you for all your reviewing! And I'll try to impress you with the aura abilities! :)**

**bectonstrider – Thanks very much :3 Here's a new chapter along with Chapter 4 (Not sure if you read it or not) but I hope you've enjoyed!**


	7. Return

**Posting this just to let everyone know I'm not dead. I've just been going through a lot lately. With school, of course added to my stress.**

**But don't worry. I'm still here and I'll hopefully get out the next chapters for my other stories. I just had to get something out since I haven't updated anything in about a month.**

* * *

**Chapter 7**

* * *

The raven haired boy continued to toss and turn in the center of his dormitory bed.

_Over_ and _over_ again_._

But one thought was holding him back from his much needed slumber for the day ahead of him.

May Maple. The girl he had once looked at as some ordinary girl to a girl he has been fancying for quite some time already.

He didn't even understand himself. How could such a girl impact his life…after such a sort time?

Hell, he didn't even understand the feeling. Not once has he felt such…love…or lust.

…

That was his breaking point. Ash shot one eye open…one after the other and raised his upper body, his back pressed up against the front of the bed.

…

Groggily rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Ash then threw off the covers and quickly exchanged his clothes for the same Team Rocket uniform he had always been wearing.

Quickly throwing it on, he quietly stepped across his dorm room, making sure not to wake Lucario, who was lying in the corner of the room.

The raven haired boy just now, had finally made his way to the door, opened it, and walked out.

* * *

…

For the past couple minutes, Ash had begun racing across the Rocket Headquarters, making sure not to wake the grunts nearby or to cause any suspicions.

He just quickly and quietly made his way till he finally came close to the front door of the entire building.

…

Ash stopped the second he came to the door. He slowly began to reach his arm out towards the handle.

The expression on his face staying serious. Not once cracking a smile.

Before he knew it, his arm reached the handle.

_Click Click_

It was locked.

Knowing exactly what to do next, Ash shut his eyes.

A few moments later, and his entire hand had begun to glow into a familiar light shade of blue, and soon after, snapping the lock of the door.

With one small nudge from Ash, the door opened, emitting a low creaking sound from it.

And the moment it opened, the raven haired boy from inside the building made a run for it.

* * *

…

All the way in the city of Petalburg was May Maple, the daughter of the city's gym leader.

At this moment, she just continued to lie on her bed, a pencil in one hand and diary in the other, the lamp on her nightstand being the only source of light in her room.

The brunette haired girl was scribbling down a bunch of random notes about…life. Nothing too much in particular.

Occasionally, quite frequently actually, she would stop writing and allow her mind to think about a familiar raven haired boy.

But she had barely managed to shake them off and write in her diary.

May _still _missed him.

This was a guy she barely even knew, but there was something special about him. Well, that's at least what her heart persuaded her to think.

* * *

May slightly fidgeted in her bed, but then found a new comfortable position, and soon writing again in her diary. Still doing her best to rid the thoughts of Ash Ketchum.

_Knock Knock_

Very much startled, May practically jumped, dropping both items in her hand and shooting her gaze over to her window, where the sudden knocks had been heard.

"…Um, who's there?..." She nervously asked.

"It's me."

Throwing a hand to her mouth, May gasped. "…Ash?"

Man, she couldn't believe her ears. Ash is back? Boy was she in for a surprise.

…

Just now, May jumped out of her bed and hurriedly rushed to her window and swiftly opened it.

And right after, a tall figure leaped in.

"Ash…?" May nervously asked. "Is that you?"

"Yes, it's me," He replied, throwing off the dark hood of his jacket to reveal his face.

Just the sight of the boy's handsome face brought butterflies to May's stomach. But the feeling was immediately shrugged off when her worriedness kicked in.

"Where've you been?! Are you okay?! Should I call the police!?" May frantically rambled.

Placing both hands over the girl's shoulders, Ash did his best to reassure the young girl.

"Yes, I'm fine, May. There's nothing to worry about-"

Cutting him off, the brunette had squeezed the older boy closer to her body.

Ash, slightly blushing at the affectionate gesture, spoke in between forced breaths. "Um...May...Can't-breath…"

"Sorry!" May squeaked out, immediately releasing the boy.

"It's fine," Ash smiled. "Listen, I'll explain everything later, but I've got to go."

"What? But you just got here!" May scolded.

"I know know. But there's something…"

"What?" May asked, urging him on.

"I can't say…I've just got to go…" Ash said, setting his gaze away.

"Ash…please…tell me what's going on," May pleaded.

"I'm sorry," He said. "I promise you'll find out sooner or later."

"At least tell me when I'll be able to see you again…"

Ash hesitantly threw on his dark hood of his jacket and headed towards the window. "I'm not sure…but I promise we'll see each other again. I just can't explain things now."

"Ash…"

Looking out the window, Ash stopped himself. Turning his entire body back to May, he began to slowly walk over to her.

"What are you doing…are you staying?" May asked.

Placing both hands on May's waist, Ash leaned into May and pressed his lips to hers.

Very startled by the boy's action, May stood wide eyed, not even expecting this the least bit from Ash, but before she knew it, instincts kicked in.

She shut her eyes as well and reciprocated the kiss, matching the gradual effort from Ash.

…

But it was over.

Ash pulled away and dragged his feet back to the window.

On the other hand, May stood there confused and sad. Confused from what had just happened. And sad that Ash was leaving…again.

Stepping one foot after the other on the window sill, Ash briefly turned around and mumbled. "I'll see you again sometime," And jumped down.

Extremely worried, May rushed over to the window and looked down, expecting Ash to be hurt. But he wasn't. He was gone.

…

* * *

**(The next morning)**

That very next morning, Domino sat patiently at a cafeteria table alone, waiting for her daily meet up with Ash.

He was unusually late…This was unlike him…

…

Domino sighed and took a sip of her coffee, before writing on the paper sitting on her clipboard.

…

A little bit later, but eventually Ash showed up from his morning routing/workout.

"Hi Domino," Ash unemotionally said.

"Hi…"Domino replied with a raised eyebrow. "What took you so long?"

"Slept in," He blankly replied.

"Ah…" The rocket elite slowly began to nod in understanding. "Giovanni gave me some news."

Ash, not even saying anything, just looked up from his plate of food, awaiting for Domino to speak.

"Your first mission is today."

"Really?" Ash asked, unconvinced. "Are you pulling my leg?"

"No. Giovanni-your father believes that you're capable of doing this particular mission."

"What is it?"

"That's classified as of now. You and I will have to speak one last time to Giovanni before I can give you proper instructions."

Ash nodded as he slowly pushed his fork into his mouth, chewing and then swallowing the food.

"Let's go talk to dad then," Ash said, getting up and throwing away his tray.

"Um...weren't you going to finish your breakfast? There's no rush in talking to him so soon..."

"Nah, I'm not really that hungry," He insisted. "Let's just head on out."

Domino, a bit hesitant at first, asked. "Where's Lucario?"

"Right here," Ash spoke, turning around and pulling a pokeball from his belt, showing it to Domino. "Now let's go."

...

The rocket elite did nothing but stare at the red and white orb in the palm of Ash's hand, but alas, agreed with his request.

But Domino couldn't help but feel curious of the boy's strange new behavior...

Instead, she jotted down one last note on her clipboard before getting up to follow the boy.

* * *

**So...I hope the chapter was good. It was a bit tough trying to keep up with the plot after such a long time and re-understanding where my inspiration was at the time. So I'm sorry if some things were incorrect here and there. **

**Like I said, I didn't really have the time to write for a while, but I finally managed to squeeze in some time for this, so I hope this was worth the wait. **

**But, once again! Back to the original motto! Read and Review! Your comments are very much appreciated! ****(More updates are to come! [Hopefully!]**

**~Ashura Satoshi**


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